


The Legend of Why Do We Make Such Bad Life Choices

by Infinity_formation



Category: Durarara!!, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Begging, Feelings of isolation, Izaya has issues that he’s trying to ignore, Izaya is actually a good brother, Izaya vs. Izaya’s subconscious vote now on your phones, Kasuka listens to American Pop, Not planned, Poor Izaya, Some Dark Humor, The fourth wall is not safe from Kasuka, Will add more tags and characters as they come up, even when he doesn’t realize it, ignore the background nothing to see here, morally righteous Shizuo, no knowledge of Zelda required, of the non-sexual variety, or possessive Shizuo, perceptive Shizuo sees through all of Izaya's issues, possible accidental shizaya, shizuo's swearing, the girls aren’t letting him have it, this was meant to be light hearted, up to you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-10 18:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15297552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinity_formation/pseuds/Infinity_formation
Summary: It's like going on a forced vacation. There's nothing to worry about. Nothing. Really. Except maybe themselves. Being stranded in a new society is advantageous for some and not so for others. But it will be how they react to each other and their own minds that will really determine if they can make it home. Light hearted humor meets hidden denial and subconscious issues.





	1. The Forgotten and The Legends of Old and New

“Gha! Ha… ha…” “Ha… ha… uhhhhh” “I- ha- I’m never going anywhere without dynamite ever again.” “Haaaaahaaahahaahahaha!!!!” He half wanted to say something to her for laughing but all three of them were so exhausted as they lay collapsed on the hard stone that he couldn’t bring himself to care. It had seemed so hopeless. He wasn’t sure he had ever been so sacred for his life or aware he cared for his siblings. But that sprint, hearing Kururi trip and Mairu’s scream, the red lights and whirring noise of machinery, his body shuddered again without his input and he allowed himself a moment of weakness to reach out to both of them and pull them close to him to feel the human contact that they were both still there.

  
They just lay like that for awhile. Slowly catching their breath and coming out of shock as they felt the solid presence of each other’s bodies curled together on the rock. Eventually it was Kururi who brought the other two out of their doze. “Nii-san saved me.”

  
His breath caught for a second. It hadn’t been a conscious decision. He hadn’t even looked behind him. When he’d heard her foot catching and her sharp breath behind him he’d pivoted, reached back, and grabbed her arm before continuing to race for the vortex up ahead.

  
He felt Mairu squeeze him from behind. “We knew you cared Iza-nii. Even if you keep denying it.” He sighed. “Maybe” he allowed. “Don’t go getting any ideas- ah!” That was apparently enough for them as they proceeded to squeeze all the air out of his lungs. “Ai-air!” They eventually let him breathe before he lost all his air and together they started to sit up.

  
“We should probably find where we… are” He trailed off as a green mist started spreading through the air and a giant shadow was cast upon them. Looking up there was a giant dragon.

  
A dragon.

  
Bright red white and gold it lazily moved through the sky above them. It didn’t seem to notice them and the three of them stayed perfectly still until it was long out of sight.

  
“I don’t think we’re near home.” Mairu finally said. “China?” Kururi asked. It had been an eastern type dragon and there were large sections of the country that weren’t developed and largely unknown to outsiders. They could be somewhere off in the far mountains maybe as far as Nepal. “Makes as much sense as anything else right now. Lets find some shelter.” And they started walking without looking back at the hole they’d blown in the temple behind them.

  
The valley they found themselves in looked very long from the temple top. Thankfully they were able to find some collapsed rocks that got them close enough to the top that even Kururi could climb the last section to the valleys ridge. They were expecting the mountains they could see off in the distance from the temple, but instead there was a vast plain. There were some ruined huts that Mairu was excited to explore before they saw a lone wolf poking around the ruins. After that they headed in the other direction and kept to the edge of the ridge. They passed a large skeleton and came across another ruined hut that was thankfully wolf-free.

  
“Look! Mushrooms!” Mairu thankfully had the presence of mind to keep her voice to an excited whisper as she ran off the gather the mushrooms. Izaya and Kururi shared a look before following after her.

  
Frankly Izaya wasn’t too excited to play What’s Safe To Eat with his baby sisters but seeing as they’d all woken up in the middle of nowhere with crazy monsters and now dangerous wildlife and no humans in sight, he sadly acknowledged they may need to forage for themselves for awhile.

  
He kept a look out while the girls went through the grasses to try and find anything that may be edible. As he drew closer to the hut a glint of sunlight caught his eye. There, lodged into the wood, was an arrow. He went over and pulled it out. The wood looked old but it was surprisingly still sturdy. As he looked around he found another arrow and rusted weaponry hidden in the grasses. He took the arrows but there was no way he’d be able to lug around a rusted sword so big and he didn’t want to tempt the girls either. He saw a wolf roaming around further away; they’d have to get moving.

  
He looked back at the sword.

  
The rust would keep it from causing any real damage but maybe he could get lucky and bash the thing hard enough on its head if it came to it. He still didn’t have a good way to carry anything that big – his inner pockets barely fit the arrows without being in danger of poking himself and the girls’ jacket pockets had the same problem – but better the heavy paper weight than risking the wolf finding them unarmed. So with resignation he picked up the damn sword and trudged back to the girls.

  
Thankfully they had finished foraging and were standing up ready to go. “Wow! Where did you find that?!” Mairu continued to whisper yell. “By the house. We don’t have time to look for more though. We gotta get moving.” They quickly took off again further down the ridge.

  
It was going on what felt like an hour and he was becoming afraid of how long this valley might be when he saw a structure in the distance. “Do you two see that?” “Huh?” Came the twin noises of surprise as he startled them out of whatever silent conversation they’d been having. “Is that… another dragon?” Mairu asked. He looked closer. It was definitely shaped like a dragon but “It looks like it may be made out of wood?” “Wood. Means people.” There was definitely a chance of meeting people if they went to the wood dragon thing. And while it may be abandoned like this village they were finding pieces of all over the plain their chances of surviving dramatically increased if they were able to incorporate themselves into a human settlement. “Lets go.”

  
They had to get uncomfortably close to the edge of the ridge to avoid some more wolves but to their immense relief (not just his for once. Maybe the girls had developed some sense since he’d left home) it was wood and there were other humans walking around. There was even a road passing through what they could now make out as a fortified, padlocked area with livestock. He almost considered dropping the sword in case they found it threatening but he saw the people on the road similarly, in fact even more, armed.

  
They hopped over the fence and walked into the small crowd of people. He could see merchants, people on horseback, a lady was tending to a pot a little ways away, travelers with well-fitting travel packs and weapons went in and out of the area, and a few structures were nestled around the larger dragon-like building.

  
Finally they had found people.

  
“Um, nii-san? Can you understand them?” “What? “Azzai kar. Menfo unisin abtonon.” “Abnonsoii iiisssnyyj fgnettter.”

  
They had found people, and they spoke a completely different language. Oh goodie.

  
\--------

  
Shizuo wasn’t sure how they’d ended up here, but he was happy that if he had to be stranded somewhere out in the middle of nowhere at least he was with Kasuka. It was selfish of him to think that, really, he should be hoping that his brother didn’t get caught up in whatever crazy world-traveling-flea-instigating mess they found themselves in but he couldn’t stop himself from being happy for the company. The two of them and Ruri had woken up on the hands of some lady statue out in the middle of nowhere. High nowhere. They’d all had to scale a cliff face to get down. And then they were confronted with honest to god goblins and packs of wolves. Between his strength and Ruri’s surprising fighting ability none of the creatures they’d encountered so far had been any issue. They’d been lucky, or perhaps unlucky depending on how you viewed it, enough that Kasuka and Ruri had been planning a day trip together right before they got swept off to who-knows-wherever-they-were and had backpacks filled with food, water, a blanket, and now some creature parts that Kasuka had decided would be a good idea to carry around. Whatever, he’d leave that stuff to Kasuka; he always seemed to know what he was doing.

  
They’d found an incline off the cliff edge leading into a small pond and a valley bellow and were now drying off their stuff under some ruined buildings after jumping the rest of the way into the pond. “Where do you think we are?” Ruri asked them. Shizuo played with the wet cigarette between his teeth. “No idea. Nowhere close to Tokyo. For all I know we're not even in Japan anymore.” Man, he hoped these things dried. At least his lighter was working. They’d be able to start fire once it got dark. Actually… “I wonder… if perhaps we are not on Earth anymore.” “What?!” They both turned to look at Kasuka; momentarily distracted from their earlier thoughts. “What I mean is: looking at the type of monsters we faced earlier, and the items they dropped upon their defeat, I can not help but wonder if perhaps we are in a video game of some sort.” They stared at him for a few moments or maybe a few minutes Shizuo was too busy in the white that had become his brain as he tried to process that. Finally “Sure” he said as he stood up and started collecting dried sticks and leaves. “Makes as much sense as anything else right now.” “If we are in a video game” Ruri continued “then what final objective do we have to complete? Would we go home once it’s completed?” The two of them sat in silence contemplating it while Shizuo finished collecting firewood. When he brought it all back and started prepping the wood for kindling they’d agreed that they weren’t going to come up with any more answers without more information on the type of game they may be in and how they’d gotten there. As he worked Shizuo thought about that last part himself. This didn’t feel like something the Flea had done, even though in every other way it reeked of something he might get a kick out of. He could see it now: Izaya laughing his ass off over Shizuo trying to make sense of the world of a video game. Except if the Flea had meant to send him here he never would have sent Kasuka and Ruri. It was true the Flea sometimes skirted the edges of the fine line that was involving Kasuka in their games but he’d never directly involved him as more than a means to tick Shizuo off. Almost as though Izaya was nervous to involve someone else in these games that had become so exclusive to the two of them. Bahhh, he was reading too much into this. His gut feeling said it wasn’t the Flea so it wasn’t the Flea. End of story. By that point he’d got a fire going and they all curled up closer to the fire to warm up and dry off. Shizuo hoped it didn’t rain anytime soon. They should probably find better shelter than these little run down buildings before it got dark. Their stuff eventually dried off and they got everything back together before heading off again cause those were rain clouds in the distance just to mess with Shizuo’s shitty luck. The first direction they headed in proved to be full of more creatures than they wanted to handle at this point. So more rock climbing it was. At the top of the plateau they reached they had a good view of the surrounding area. A bunch of shitty cliffs, some deadlands, some really weird vegetation platforms growing out of the ground like deformed mushrooms, more mountains, snowy mountains, was that fucking LAVA COMING FROM A VOLCANO in the distance, a big creepy bird, the snowy mountains looked like they had a manmade path or something through it but fuck mountains at this point. Maybe if they needed to run from the lava they could go that way. Aaaaaand hold up, that was a bridge wasn’t it. “You guys see that?” “…You’ll have to be more specific Shizuo-san.” “Over there. There’s a bridge. And working wind propeller… things.” “You’re right.” Kasuka said after a moment. “And over there… That looks like a wooden structure.” “It could just be another ruin maybe?” Ruri pointed out. “Perhaps. But we should still check it out in case it leads to plot progression.” And with that Kasuka began the trek down the slope towards the bridge and whatever weird structure he’d seen. Shizuo noticed Kasuka seemed to be enjoying this. The happiness that at least his brother was having a good time soothed his annoyance at everything going on in their predicament. And probably would have lasted to the bridge too if the weather hadn’t chosen that moment to flash lightning not too far off in the distance. As he ran with Ruri to catch up and hurry to the bridge before the weather overtook them he remembered something important he’d been meaning to ask. “So, did either of you see the volcano erupting? We ignoring that?”

  
As it turned out they didn’t make it before the rain caught up with them. And the lightning! But they did manage to run right into a very startled person right around the corner before the bridge. They were right in time to run into a round, circular building with a bunch of other people to escape the rain, and were ushered into the far end away from the entrances as the workers closed the tent flaps that were used to keep the structure open. With them closed and a bunch of bodies all pressed into a loose crowd near the back of the building, it didn’t take much time for warmth to start enveloping the building. They relaxed and sat down along the edge with some of the other people as they took in the place. It was nice, warm gentle lamps hung in the ramps of the ceiling, there were lots of blankets and curtains draped all over, and lots of rugs on the floor. Around the edges and spaced intermittently in one half of the section were a bunch of beds with curtains around them for privacy and there were cots around the edges of the section he was in with a few people sleeping on them like futons. The space next to them had some tables and chairs and more open space for people to mill around in. The section they were all gathered in right now actually looked like it would be a good space to circle around in and tell stories. He wondered what sort of space this was.

  
While Shizuo was busy taking in and analyzing the building and location Ruri and Kasuka had discovered something else. Ruri could sort of understand what the people were saying, as if they were speaking in a strange dialect with a weird thick accent, but Kasuka couldn’t understand them at all. “Nii-san.” “Hmm?” He turned around to face Kasuka. “Can you understand what the people are saying?” ? He turned back around to pay attention to the people this time. Now that he thought about it he couldn’t make any sense out of whatever they were saying. The sounds all came out together in weird ways that he couldn’t make any sense of. “No.” Kasuka turned back to Ruri and shook his head. She looked confused. “I wonder why only I can understand them.” Kasuka put his hand on her knee. “The reason doesn’t have to matter. What matters is that you can.” Shizuo turned away to give the two lovebirds some space. It was good that at least Ruri could understand these people. They’d be in trouble if they weren’t able to communicate. Sure enough, they were eventually approached by one of the workers. “manaonnsuu meee kaaana ha?” “Ahhhh” He awkwardly gestured towards Ruri. “Seinva” The man walked over and began chatting with her. Shizuo was glad she felt up to it.

  
The man left and Ruri told them that the place operated as an inn and community center. They wouldn’t be charged to seek shelter from the rain or sleep on the rugs but if they wanted to use the beds they had a fee of 20 something weird currency. None of them particularly cared one way or the other about sleeping in a bed versus the rugs as long as they were out of the rain tonight but it did bring up the subject of what they were going to do about money. That too was solved by Kasuka’s superior brain. “Nii-san you can continue your work as a bodyguard. NPCs always need bodyguards when they travel.” NP-what? “Ok, I can do that.” He nodded. “Ruri-san do you think you could translate some of your songs to the local language?” He turned to her. She considered it. “Yes, I should be able to. Not all of them will resonate with such different lifestyles but I can write new ones once I get a better idea for the people’s lives here.” Kasuka nodded. “As for me” dramatic lighting suddenly shone on him and he stuck one of the “cool” poses from his films “I will be the manager!” Shizuo could feel the dot dot dot floating above his and Ruri’s heads. “…Sure.” They agreed. Where did those lights even come from? “Excellent! Then we shall find a merchant to accompany tomorrow for our first quest.” They talked a little more after that but soon enough curled up with their blankets and went to sleep. Before he fell asleep Shizuo wondered where they really were. Was it really some game? And if the three of them had ended up here, had anybody else?

  
They found a merchant called Yammo the next morning who was more than happy to hire them as bodyguards. She’d apparently been putting off a particular travel route because it passed through dangerous territory and needed to head there to restock on goods that were best in that region. And so after a quick introduction, some haggling on price on Kasuka’s part, and a quick breakfast they were on the road. According to Ruri they were only going about a days trip to a logging settlement. They’d know they were close when they saw the snow. “annn kosntae knonl fserffffl” Yammo told them from the front. He looked towards Ruri for a translation. “Ah, she says there’s also an old forgotten legend in the area. She doesn’t know the specifics herself. Perhaps we can ask the locals more when we get there.” “Hmmm” Forgotten huh?


	2. Izaya has a bad night. Shizuo is smug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to CyanideIrony for helping me space the dialogue to make it easier to read! And thank you to everyone who's reading and reviewing!
> 
> Trying out a few types of page breaks.

Kururi walked over to the western gatepost and leaned against it. The sun was starting to set and Izaya still wasn’t back yet. This wouldn’t be the first time he was out until dark but every time she couldn’t focus on anything else past the constant worry.

 

It wasn’t that Kururi was especially fond of her brother. He’d kept his distance since he left the house and though a constant in their lives, had always been very hands off in raising them. She’d never been particularly concerned about him back home. Izaya was always getting himself in trouble and getting out again. He could take care of himself and she didn’t have to worry about it beyond the fear that one day he’d take it too far or get on the bad side of the wrong person and then possibly be gone from their lives for good.

 

But in this place, wherever they were now, she knew he was out of his element. Izaya thrived in large metropolises where he could dance all around the large numbers of people and be safe among strangers everywhere. He constantly had new people to interact with for work and entertainment and could easily pop away for awhile if he got in a little too much trouble. The place they’d ended up was possibly the opposite of that: few people, maybe a hundred at best; a culture that appeared to rely heavily on honor and give and take community; no easy means to use his smooth communication skills; and no other settlements to run to.

 

They’d been lucky the people were so open and compassionate. When they’d seen the three of them, battered and tired and lugging around a rusted sword they clearly couldn’t use, they’d taken them in and given them food, water and shelter. Kururi and Mairu had instantly felt relived and she could tell Izaya was too even if it was fighting with his panic over being fussed over by people on their own accord. The settlers had been surprised by the language barrier but had quickly waved it off and shown them how they could help out around the place as they slowly tried to learn the language. Kururi and Mairu had been given basic domestic tasks that were easy enough to complete if time consuming. She suspected it was on account of them being female and their age.

 

She couldn’t help but notice there weren’t as many women around. The first night they’d been too exhausted to really think on it but over the next few days as she’d mended clothes, cooked meals, helped keep the place clean, and gone out on foraging trips with some of the other women she’d done some basic estimates and the ratio was noticeably off. She wanted to ask the other women about it but had only learned basic attention words and terms off address. She didn’t want to worry Mairu over it just yet and Izaya spent most of his time out of the village which was even more concerning to her.

 

Izaya had been taken aside by some of the men the second day and given his own tasks. She had nodded to herself and thought that was that but before the week was out he’d started disappearing every few days to go outside of the settlement and return with various objects at irregular times. She’d come to learn over their time here that it wasn’t just the wolves that posed a danger outside the fortification.

There were various types of monsters that roamed these lands and skeletons that animated and attacked travelers during the night. She was sure whatever her brother was doing was risking run-ins with all of these creatures.

 

Suddenly she noticed someone coming down the path. That…. wasn’t her brother though…

 

~~*the day before*~~

 

Though not initially something he had enjoyed Izaya had come to enjoy his visits to the spring. The wolves rarely came around for some reason and it sat outside of any of the monster’s patrolling patterns. As long as he got back before dark and had found satisfactory spoils he could sit by the spring and get some peace to think here. He even found himself partial to all the little bugs and wildlife that enjoyed the spring. It was like a miniaturized version of the city with all the little creatures in place of the humans.

 

It hadn’t been too long since they had come across and begun trying to immerse themselves in the settlement and, although life lacked the sort of challenges he had become used to back home, he was satisfied, even content, with his life as it was now.

 

Not that he thought he could go on like this long term, but it was a pleasant little experience to have things shaken up a bit. Yes. That was why he was happy. Not because his sisters actually seemed to care what he was doing for once. Not because he’d see Kururi watching him to make sure he got home before dark, not because Mairu had suddenly taken to insisting he spar with her every day and had decided she was the sibling’s personal trainer, no, he was happy because by taking a break from the city once in a while he could really appreciate all that ~~life~~ , that his humans back home had to offer. Yes, that was it. Really, he should have done this sooner. And so it was with a big smile on his face that he made his way back to the settlement, enjoying the clean air and hopping across the rock outcroppings.

 

 

The girls were still doing chores when he got back. He found the men he “reported to” and handed over the bundle of things he’d found today.

 

He mostly scavenged the ruins they’d found on their first day here where no one else seemed to want to go but occasionally he’d go a little further out and skirt the monster nests to the west.

 

He was hoping he could find something there that would make him a little more indispensable to this group, rather then spend all his days chopping logs and felling trees like the rest of them seemed to do.

 

Well that and farming and construction. But he didn’t want to be doing the same repetitive motion all day, or tending to animals, and all the construction and more interesting jobs required a bit more communication than “point and bring back this.”

 

He’d found one blacksmith in the little settlement and had slowly made his way over to look at all the chimneys before the man had looked him over, called him “alonz” and proceeded to laugh at him and shoo him off. Rude.

 

He was planning to check out the monster nest again the next morning. He’d begun to run out of things to bring back in his normal areas and was sure he could build some appreciation within the community if he could take out the monsters or at least bring back some treasure.

 

He’d found a bow in one of his hunts that the men had been ok with him using and had been practicing with the few arrows he could scavenge.

 

Naturally with only about a week of practice he wasn’t by any means great but he wasn’t terrible either, and that would have to be enough for now.

 

 

 

 

. . . Or he had _planned_ to leave the next morning. But of course it was raining. Again. _Why_ must it always rain every time he wanted to sneak out before his sisters were up?

 

The settlers laughed at his predicament and one of them that he’d decided must be named something like Sanniok came over to him and dragged him back inside to eat some of the mushroom stew that was being served. He let himself be cajoled into sitting down and eating a bowl. Trying to make sense of the language as always but his ears just weren’t taking to it as quickly as they had to English or Russian.

It was frustrating but told him that wherever they were must be further away then he had previously suspected.

 

Not that that dragon had given it away or anything. Nope. Maybe they were in the mountains near Nepal like they’d been guessing earlier. Though he’d never expected to find valleys like this anywhere near there.

 

Thankfully the rain went away in a few hours and he was able to escape out the door just as his sisters were starting to wake up. He wasn’t particularly in the habit of racing out before they were up but they had developed the unhelpful habit of being able to read when he planed to pull a dangerous stunt in his trips for the day and would make a big fuss and sometimes even get him stuck helping out the other men around the camp. Not what he had planned for the day.

 

And so he headed out the western gate as the sun started breaking up the last of the clouds.

  

 ------------------------

 

The problem with this nest was that there were so many of them and so few spots to hide. He was thankful that they didn’t seem to be very smart or they would have found him crouching on the top of the wall right away.

 

The ruins didn’t look remarkably different from the last time he’d been there: small craters dotted parts of the ground, looking like someone had once used explosives to clear the area.

 

Scattered throughout the ruins, and in increasing amounts the closer one got to the fort that served as their main base, were old provisions and creates. These crates were his main target on his reconnaissance trips out of the settlement.

 

He’d been sent with a team on his second day to look around the wolf-infested ruins in the valley and recover whatever lasting provisions they could find. Unlike wood chopping that required arm strength one just did not naturally develop in the lifestyle of a big city, his years of running and hopping around various parts of Tokyo and avoiding improvised projectiles had put him on the same ability level, even slightly higher he was pleased to note, as some of these men who had grown up outrunning these wolves. So he’d been given his targets, a sack that easily slung over his shoulders and was pointed off in the various directions the settlers knew used to house people.

 

Occasionally he’d go off with a group again when they were sent to forage slightly further than the normal spots were they could run into monsters, but mostly he was on his own.

 

There really wasn’t much he could do here without better tools. Either he’d need to get much better with the bow and arrow or he’d need some explosives or something of the sort. He didn’t want to chance fire, the ruins had vines yes, but it wouldn’t spread well except on the outer edges which could risk it getting back to the settlement. Ah, decisions, decisions. He supposed he should wander the parameter and see if he could find any of the provision boxes that weren’t being appropriately attended.

 

\----- a few hours later ---------

 

 _Please don’t rain. Please don’t rain._ He’d thought he’d caught a lucky break when he found the back of the camp to be loosely guarded and was double checking the _surprisingly seemingly unguarded_ crates near the bottom of the fort when he’d made a little too much noise moving positions and had alerted one of the monsters standing guard nearby.

 

He’d made a quick run past the back of the nest hoping it would quickly leave seeing him running away but it had pursued him all the way across the grasslands and right to the edge of another monster nest he hadn’t known was in the area.

 

It was a stroke of luck that the monsters there seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see them and that had given him the life saving seconds he’d needed to see the tall platform nearby, recognize that the ladder up had fallen apart on the lower section and only a practiced jumper could reach the part not falling apart, and to _madly_ dash off for the ladder right as the monsters were getting over their shock and starting to run for him.

 

He hadn’t stopped to see what they’d done until he was at the far top. Thankfully he’d been right and none of them had been able to reach the stable parts of the ladder (the broken pieces were now laying scattered next to the pole on the ground) but now all the monsters in this nest were alerted that they had an easy meal on the top of the platform and he couldn’t stay up there forever. Eventually the rain, hunger, or even the god damned _wind_ could blow him off the edge and they’d be right on him. He’d seen the one following him from the original nest run off and ever since he’d seen lookouts from the other nest watching him periodically to see when he’d fall.

 

Probably so they could run over and fight with the other nest over his broken corpse.

 

It was nearing night now and he’d been stuck up here with a few pieces of straw around the boards, a blanket that had been weighed down, a barrel of explosives, his bow, the few arrows he could scavenge before hand, and his lose outfit meant for quick runs but not for enduring the biting cold. He’d have to do something though. He couldn’t stay up here forever.

 

\---- At the Gate ------

 

“What do you mean the flea’s been gone all day?” Shizuo asked for the second time.

 

They’d made it all the way to the next settlement with Yammo and had been all excited to celebrate their first successful trip when he’d seen Kururi standing dejected at the entrance gate. (Definitely not the Flea’s doing then. He’d _never_ send his own flesh and blood into one of his schemes no matter how loudly he tried to proclaim to the contrary) She’d been surprised to see them, and surprisingly quick to inform him that Izaya was missing. Between Ruri and Yammo they’d quickly learned that Izaya went out on daily scouting missions to bring back supplies to the settlement and that he’d tried to sneak out early this morning to the west with his bow and arrows- items he usually didn’t take unless he was expecting trouble.

 

“What’s in the west?” Ruri asked for them.

 

“There’s a monster nest out there. A big one.” One of the labors told them.

 

Once word got out that he was missing it didn’t take long for the small crowd of people who knew him to gather. Surprisingly they all seemed to have good opinions of him. Who knew.

 

“You don’t think he’s gone to try and steal from them do you?”

 

“He has been eyeing it more often lately than not. He’s been leaving early whenever he plans to do something stupid too.”

 

That sounded more like the Flea he knew.

 

“How far is it from here?” He asked.

 

“Only about half an hour, less if you hurry. If you’re thinking of going though you better go soon; it’s almost dark out.”

 

He growled “None of you are going?”

 

“We don’t have any fighters that could take on a nest that big. Why do you think it’s still here?” One of them gestured towards the girls “Plus we still have the girls. It’s a shame to lose the man but that happens sometimes.” He shrugged dismissively.

 

Shizuo knew whatever he said hadn’t been good when he saw Ruri hide her flinch and had to take a deep breath to contain himself when she finally translated. When he had himself contained and knew he wasn’t about to smash anyone he turned around and started heading out.

 

“I’m going to go get him. And you can tell these assholes that whether I find him alive or not we’re taking the sisters with us. Izaya would never want to leave his sisters in a place that thought of them like that.” He heard the shouts behind him as he made his way to the edge of the gate and headed off at a run. Wait for me Izaya. You can’t die yet until I punch your head into the ground.

 

\----------At the top of the platform----------------

 

It was now or never. He couldn’t wait around anymore and he didn’t want to find out if he’d get blown over in the breeze or whether skeletons could assemble at the top of platforms in this strange place.

 

He threw the explosive barrel off the side of the ledge and right into the middle of the nest below. He waited until the very second it went off than raced down the ladder, not even bothering to step down he took his feet off the sides and felt the rope burn against his hands as he let gravity bring him to the bottom. He landed with a groan at the bottom seconds later and he feared the impact took away whatever lead time he’d had.

 

He forced himself to get up and start running up the hill for the road, hearing the nest start running after him from behind and the fort from the other camp sounding their alarm.

 

Great, both of them at once.

 

He managed to get far enough away that he thought he heard one of them stop following but when he looked back to check two were right on his heels. They chased him up to the cliffside.

In desperation he tried to climb up it to get away but it was too steep and he slid back down. He barley avoided a club to the head and felt something hard and small collide with his side and send him sliding back down the hill.

 

Grunting he saw the fall had created some distance between them and took out his bow and an arrow as he sat up. He waited until the first one was right on him before letting go and heard it howl as the arrow lodged itself into its head.

 

Not waiting to see if that would kill it he tired to run for the road again before the other one could catch him and was passing a yard away from it when it started raining and it suddenly stopped.

 

He froze, not understanding what was going on and held his breath as the monster looked around, blinked, and yawned. Then as if nothing had happened it started slowing making it’s way back to the nest.

 

He didn’t dare move. Not until it was all the way back at it’s nest and only then did he see it.

 

 

An abandoned barrel.

 

 

He couldn’t believe it. Carefully, he made his way down. He paused when it occurred to him that the other one might still be around but it seemed like it had vanished.

 

Once again he carefully made his way to the barrel. So far so good. He carefully lifted open the lid, and – a cricket.  . . . . . A cricket.

 

Well mister magic cricket, into the bag you go- WAHM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shizuo was going to kill Izaya if those monsters didn’t first. He’d made it to the edge of the ruins where the monsters were said to live and it didn’t take him long to find the Flea tied up in the center of the whole mess in the fuckin Tree House. What a party they must be having. Plus it was dark and raining so those freaky skeleton like monsters kept popping up and he had to keep knocking them down again and it was creating an ungodly amount of noise. At least he Kasuka wasn’t signing American pop to it again. His brother had a good singing voice but even without knowing what it meant that beat kept getting stuck in his head.

 

As he made his way over to the _fuckn treehouse_ he realized there wasn’t even a bridge or a ladder to get up it. Great. How the fuck did they even get Izaya up there? All he could see around him were a bunch of big creates. I guess create stackin it is.

 

 

 

 

Uggggg What had hit him? And why did he hurt all over? Why was it so cold? And – ow! What was going on with his hands?

 

“Well look what we have here~”

 

Shizuo!? He tried to open his eyes but his head hurt and they didn’t want to stay open.

 

“Didn’t know you were such a fan of playing tree house Flea.”

 

He tried to ask what he was talking about but all that came out was a groan. Damn it.

 

“Oh, I am never letting you live this down.”

 

Of course he wasn’t. Whatever was going on seemed to have put the beast in a good mood. Well at least he didn’t have to worry about him hurting him any further like this.

 

“Come on. We’re getting out of here.”

 

Where? Where were they? Why did Shizuo’s voice sound like he was lifting something heav- “Aaaaa!”

 

“Shhhhh! Shut up Flea! Don’t want your little playmates to realize I’m stealing their princess.”

 

“Wha?” Wait. As he got a good look at where they were (from the top of Shizuo’s shoulders too, will wonders never cease) he realized it was just after dawn and they were in the middle of the nest he had been trying to scout. And right in front of them was a real bonafide chest. He’d be set if he could bring back some real treasure. He’d be worth something! Not just a simple scavenger. “Wait, Shizuo! The chest! We have to get the chest!”

 

“Yeah, your head’s definitely been hit if you care more about some shitty chest than your own flea survival.” He started to walk towards the edge away from the chest.

 

“No!! Wait, I NEED it.”

 

“No you frekin don’t.”

“Please Shizuo! I-“

 

“What?” He stopped

 

“Huh?”

 

“You’re asking me? With please?”

 

“Yes, if you’d just get the freakin treasure or let me get it-“

 

“Ask me please one more time.”

 

“Oh for the love of- PLEASE Shizuo I need to get that chest!” If he’d been a little less shaken and focused on his goal right in front of him he’d be able to feel the pure smugness radiating off Shizuo right then.

 

“Well, I suppose if the princess demands it.” And he walked over to the chest and opened the top. Inside were tons of tiny silver gems. “What are those?”

 

“Who cares help me put them in the sack.”

 

“Huh.” Thankfully Shizuo was amused enough by shaken, narrow minded Izaya to not put up a fuss and filled the gems into the bag over his shoulder without issue. “Now we’re going. I’ve got some sisters of yours to bring you back to.”

 

His sisters? “W-AAA!!!” Without anymore fanfare Shizuo leapt off the edge of the ledge and ran them back to the main road. It all happened so fast that Izaya could barely process any of it. Before he knew it Shizuo was adjusting him so that he could see the settlement in the distance. He put him down and snapped the rope off his hands and legs. He hadn’t even realized that’s what was keeping them there.

 

“Is that the bag they gave you to put stuff in?”

 

“Huh? Yeah.”

 

“We’re definitely going to need to get you to a doctor or something if you keep being this cooperative. Here.” He took Izaya’s bag and started to empty it into one he was keeping around his waist.

 

“WAIT! Shizuo what are you doing!?”

 

“It’s my rescue fee.”

 

“Rescue fee?”

 

“Or did you not notice that you were just tied up and about to be eaten by a bunch of monsters?” Izaya just blinked at him.

 

“Right, we’re finding you a doctor.”

 

Shizuo kept a tight hold on him all the way into the settlement and still didn’t let go once they were inside. His sisters were out by the front gate and ran to hug him as soon as they saw him.

 

“Iza-nii!!!” “Iza-nii! Thank goodness you’re alright.” They squealed as they hugged the life out of him. Shizuo addressed them once they’d given up trying to kill him for the second time.

 

“Do you have all your stuff packed? Any guys you need me to take care of trying to stop you?”

 

They shook their heads. “No, Yuuhei-san and Ruri-san helped us get everything together. Iza-nii’s stuff too.”

 

“That’s perfect.” He turned to face the men from last night who’d walked up to gawk at Izaya still being alive.

 

“Yours” he told them in their language as he tossed the now empty bag back to them. He stood possessively around the Orihara siblings and with one hand still holding Izaya, the other draped protectively around Mairu and Kururi tucked inbetween continued “Ours.”

 

Apparently the settlers decided they didn’t want to mess with a guy who could seemingly walk in and out of a giant monster nest without a single scratch on him and pick up a captive on the way out, because they didn’t make any fuss about them taking the siblings with them despite some pretty nasty looks thrown their way as they went by.

 

Yammo wrapped up her business, everyone got their stuff together, which Shizuo was surprised to note apparently included a sword, and they were off.

 

They would have to go east off the road, through the plains, into the Aldor Foothills, over Elma Knolls, and hug the ridge until they made it over the Rauru Hillside and to the settlement at the bottom of the hill. All of these locations were filled with dangerous monsters travelers would normally avoid, especially with a sick or injured person. It was a very dangerous route Yammo told them, but the shortest one if they hoped to find a doctor anytime soon. With Shizuo and Ruri they should be able to keep most monsters at bay but would still have to go around what would be the fastest way to avoid the more powerful monsters. He didn’t like the idea of taking the longer route when there was obviously something wrong with Izaya, but he understood that even if he could handle the monsters, and maybe Ruri too, she kept surprising him, he wouldn’t want the fight spilling over and hurting the others. Which sounded sure to happen if they fought them based on what they were hearing.

 

“Here.” Shizuo tossed Izaya a bag. He caught it and looked at it confused.

 

“What’s this?”

 

“The stuff you risked your life getting. Wasn’t going to let those fuckin settlers get whatever it is after they treated you that way.”

 

“Ooooo! Iza-nii what is it?” Mairu peaked over at his side.

 

“I don’t really know.” He told her.

 

“That the stuff he got from the nest?” Yammo asked Ruri.

 

“Apparently.”

 

“Lets see what it is.” Ruri translated her request and Izaya handed the bag over. Yammo opened it and looked inside. “Well!” She exclaimed. “That’s quite the find.” She told Izaya as she handed it back. “You’ve got a good hundred ruppies in there!”

 

“No shit? The Flea found real treasure?”

 

“Congrats Iza-nii!”

 

“What’s a “rupee”?”

 

And so he learned that his little adventure wasn’t for nothing (or a cricket) he had in fact found their first amount of money in this world; and an amount of which he could actually take care of them with. Even if it meant being rescued by Shizuo, perhaps that made it worth it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok but the cricket wasn't a reference as cool as that would be. Even better a cricket literally came out of the barrel in the Botw game I'm running parallel to the story. So Izaya got a cricket. 
> 
> Yes Izaya's and Shizuo's groups meet up earlyish. It's been two weeks for Izaya's group even if it's only been two days for Shizuo's. But don't worry Iza's not gonna solve his language barrier problem just because the group's got a translator now. :P Ahhhh I had more to say but I need to sleep. 
> 
> Hope everyone liked knight Shizuo and blink blink what Izaya! 
> 
> Chapter three is still in the process of being written. I'm not sure what my normal update time will be but I'll start with seeing if it's possible to get one out every other week at least. Since I just posted this and am into it I'll aim to update again by Tuesday but may have to wait till the weekend after. 
> 
> Thank you again for reading! ^_^


	3. A Revealing Dream

He was sure the Flea was sick. Half the time he was left alone he started to wander off and the rest of the time he was uncharacteristically docile and obedient. It was annoying but he was telling himself he wasn’t worried, until they ran across one of the goblins attacking another traveller in the road.

 

“Move!” He shouted at them.

 

They just stayed there looking at him weird but he was more focused on driving the monster away from the group than he was what they were up to. He regretted that a minute later when they gathered themselves again and unexpectedly charged the monster.

 

Shizuo barely got out of the way and the monster backed up closer to the group to get out of the way of the traveller’s sword. Everyone backed up and hid behind rocks and trees at the side of the road.

 

Everyone but the Flea who was just standing there a yard away from the monster and blinking like he didn’t know what he was seeing.

 

“Stupid Flea! Move it!!!” The Flea narrowed his eyes like he was trying to focus and then widened them in surprise, the fucker, and started to unconsciously lean back as the monster _of course_ headed right for him.

 

He took the opportunity of its open back to slam his fist right in the middle of it’s spine. It fell forward right towards the shitty Flea and dissolved into purple smoke right when it would have collided with him. They just stared at each other for a moment as Shizuo recentered himself and everyone started to come out from their hiding places. They looked at each other in silence as everyone else came and started fussing over him. Shizuo knew that to the others it may have just seemed that he froze up, but Shizuo knew better. It would take a lot more than a monster to make the Flea freeze up, hell, that didn’t even look like he was frozen. More like he hadn’t thought to move. Fucken Hell. He was too tired for this shit. He saw the traveler sitting down near the side of the road to rest and wished he could snag a nap too but he couldn’t leave the Flea like this. This wasn’t the way he wanted the Flea to meet his just deserts.

 

Yammo told them that this was the point where they would need to get off the path and transverse the landscape anyway; so after everyone was done fussing over the little shit they went off the path and headed out into the plains towards the hills. They were warned that they had to be more careful of the monsters for this part of the trip, they couldn’t let themselves be seen until they were far over the ridge. Shizuo hoped that it would get better from here but he knew that between him and the Flea things were gonna get worse first.

 

Sure enough, the Flea started sneezing when they hit a storm crossing the ridge but there wasn’t anywhere they could wait it out and they had to press onward. They had a really good view of the creepy cursed place Yammo told the used to be the royal castle. Now it just looked like a nest of evil. Creepy how something like that must have happened. He had a bad feeling about it but tired to put it out of his mind for now and focus on getting them across the hills as quickly as possible. The rain was frigid cold and they kept slipping in the mud. Yammo was having a hard time keeping her donkey from losing it’s footing and they had to keep looking to make sure the monsters wouldn’t see them. It was a tense few hours of on edge whispers and watching their step and Shizuo was worried of how he’d protect everyone if the monsters did manage to discover them. They finally managed to find the road by the time the rain let up, or what functioned as a road in these parts. Really it was a swath of upturned land that looked like some huge beast had taken a swipe out of the hill. But that was good enough for anyone crazy or desperate enough to use this route.

 

Yammo told them they were about half way at this point and were making good timing. Yeah, they better be after the flea had collapsed a little while back and he was forced to carry him. And the fucking wolves. Did they ever leave people alone? That was probably a stupid question. He was glad Ruri was there to scare them off while he gave the flea a piggyback ride.

 

“Hey shithead look, we’re almost there. Just a little further and we’ll find you a doctor and you can be back to your annoying, intolerable self.” He made the mistake of glancing back at the Flea’s head on his shoulder and found him passed out and drooling. “Why am I doing this?”

 

“No idea but look! There’s a proper road!” Mairu exclaimed and ran ahead to jump around on the “proper road”.

 

“You have more in common with your brother than you might think.” He grumbled underneath his breath. But he was glad to see them getting closer to civilization, or at least other people. He got the impression there wasn’t much in the way of cities anywhere near by.

 

Kasuka suddenly halted the group. “Up ahead. There’s a fight.”

 

“I see it.” And Ruri went off.

 

Mairu was quick to start behind her but Kururi grabbed her before she could get too far and shook her head, gesturing at Izaya. Mairu pouted but stayed with the rest of them while Ruri took care of the two goblins that had been harassing the other travelers. Or they thought they were travelers. Instead of racing off once the monsters were destroyed they went right back to the ruins they were passing through. Weird. But now they were officially over the ridge and really close. There was a pathway through a small forest and then they would arrive at the next settlement. Though it bothered him that those same monsters that had taken Izaya appeared to be everywhere and they could even see another nest in the forest. They just had to be quiet in crossing through and they should be ok. Thankfully the flea was asleep and wouldn’t be pulling any hijinks on them.

 

They reached the settlement just at dusk, which was perfect. They went to the big tent and got Izaya a bed to put him in and asked if there was a doctor around. The man running the tent told them that the doctor wasn’t in right now but that he should be back in the next day or two. All they could do until then was wait and try to take it easy. At least he finally got to sleep.

 

\------ --------- --------

He knew that something was wrong with him but he couldn’t focus long enough to pin point what was going on. Shizuo kept saying there was something wrong with him and making all these weirded out faces and it was what kept reminding him of it all of the time. He’d forget and be all relaxed walking with everyone and then Shizuo would turn and give him this look and he’d be all confused for what it was for. Here Shizuo would sigh or launch a barb about him being sick again and he would be reminded that there was something not quite right with him.

 

He felt conflicted about it. On one hand he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so peaceful. Everything was… nice. He liked it. On the other, he could tell that his mind wasn’t going as fast as it should. Everything felt… foggy. Like it was going too slow. He couldn’t think of words the way he knew he normally could and he was forgetting things quickly. This wasn’t right to him on some deep level but he wasn’t sure what was going on.

 

He’d felt sick during the thunderstorm and had tried to hide it but had been caught after only ten minutes. Shizuo had picked him up to carry him as the only one there with the build for it and he had fallen asleep shortly after. It had been nice though, while he was still awake. There was something very _complete_ like a hole deep inside the center of him was finally being filled. He just wanted it to go on like that. _Finally_.

 

He’d woken up in a bed in a large tent that he recognized as the central focus of the settlement. Only this wasn’t the one he was familiar with. The tent material was a slightly different color and he could see evidence of different patch jobs from the weather conditions. As he looked around he saw the furniture was different too in all the little ways that made one familiar with something: chairs that had nicks from kids bashing off pieces, seats worn down by use, scuff marks from the way the same person would get in and out of a chair over years. He…. wasn’t sure how he felt being in this place instead of the settlement he was used to. He’d only been there a few weeks but he felt the hole in his chest stinging at the gorge marks along the edges.

 

Slowly he became aware of an older man hunched down in front of him who seemed to be examining him.

 

“ _Hello my heongol. Monoko you kanodime?”_

What? The man moved his finger in front of his eyes and slowly moved it back and forth. He took his temperature, mimed sticking his tongue out and examined his when he followed his instructions, picked him up and then pulled him outside before pushing him back into his bed and rummaging around in his pack. He pulled out an elixir and handed it over to him then mimed for him to drink it. Confused he took out the cork and drank the tangy liquid before he felt himself getting sleepy and passing out.

 

 

When he came to everything had gained a sudden clarity. His mind was clear again and he could review the events of the last two days with his usual clarity. He’d gone after the treasure, and had apparently gotten it, but now his reward had been snatched from him and he’d been taken somewhere completely ruining plans.

Shizu-chan strikes again he thought. Then there was the incident itself.

 

He couldn’t believe what had happened. No, he didn’t want to _allow_ himself to believe that he’d been caught in such a position. He’d made a fool of himself in front of Shizuo and now he was far away from the place he’d scoped out as a temporary home with no foreseeable way of getting back. Worse, his sisters had come along for the ride and wouldn’t be likely to follow him even if he tried to persuade them that they should part company with Shizuo’s group. But could he stand to stay with the beast? Where would they even go? Where would he go if he left? What if they dumped him and left? He dragged his knees up to his chest under the covers. He was dependent on other people who could speak the language. As long as he couldn’t communicate with the people he was at the whims of those that could and he hated that. It made him feel caged. Controlled. He couldn’t stand the feeling of other people having that sort of tie to him. But he seemed stuck for now. He’d have to be careful and get out as soon as possible. He spent the next few hours trying to calm himself and think things through but couldn’t keep calm.

 

Eventually he got out of bed and slipped out of the tent. He breathed in the night air and took in the sound of crickets under the moonlight before a hand came down on his shoulder seconds later.

 

“Not trying to run off are ya?”

 

“What?” He turned around to see Shizu-chan standing there looking down at him. He must have been waiting to see if he was going to try to leave. “No, now let go of me you beast.”

 

“Huh, funny you’re still calling me that after being taken by real beasts. Maybe we just should have left you there.”

 

He bristled at the reminder and the suggestion. Clearly running into Shizu-chan when he was already worked up was not a good plan.

 

“You should have left me at the settlement once you’d taken me back. What’s wrong? Some sense of attachment all of a sudden? You’ve never had a problem getting rid of me before.” He hoped Shizu-chan would flinch back but he just stood there unperturbed if a little confused.

 

“Were you really that desperate for people that you’d let yourself stay in a place like that?”

 

“What?!” Shizuo kept making him even angrier. How could he always say the exact wrong things?!

 

“What? You know you didn’t belong there. You can’t even speak the language. You can‘t use any of them in your little games without that.” Shizuo grinned “That must have been driving you crazy. Needing to try and be helpful when you’re just a shit and can’t make people do things for you.”

 

“Shut up! You know nothing about what’s going on!”

 

“Oh? I know nothing do I? I know you’d never help anyone out if you didn’t have to or you didn’t get something out of it. Bet you had to be nice to everyone in order to stay. How horrible.”

 

“It was nothing like that! Everything was fine and you had to take me away!”

 

“Oh it’s my fault is it?!”

 

“Of course it is! It’s always you!”

 

“Why are you even so upset!?”

 

“Because –“ ~~Because those people could have been my friends!!~~ “you have to ruin everything I do! I can’t even go back there now!”

 

Shizuo lifted his head back. “I can’t believe you’d want to after what they said about you and your sisters.”

 

What? “Ha. What? Does the beast understand this language already? Is it one of your –“

 

“Will you shut up!?” Shizuo grabbed him and held him up in the air. “They were perfectly happy with you dead and were planning to use your sisters as baby making machines!”

 

He felt the cold seeping back into his chest and from there down to his legs and up his throat. “They’re humans.” Was what he said. “Humans can-“

 

“God Damn it Izaya quit it with the shitty humans talk I can see you shaking.”

 

No. He couldn’t. Not right now. He realized he must have let his guard down. There was no way he normally would have let Shizuo, or anyone for that matter shake him so much. Why was he feeling so affected?

 

“Hnnnnn ssssshh” He could hear the girls making noises in their sleep and he couldn’t stand the feeling of a fist grabbing his chest and squeezing that was forming.

 

He narrowed his eyes. “Put me down” he managed to say in an even tone. Thankfully Shizuo did put him down and he straightened his shirt.

 

“Anyway” Shizuo started talking again “now that you’re here I guess we’re stuck with you for the time being until we find a place to get rid of you.”

 

“Oh? Not gonna abandon me here? How kind of Shizu-chan. What? Too close to civilization for your tastes? Worried I’ll find a place to stay?”

 

Shizuo didn’t even bother responding. He just let out a huff and started dragging him back into the tent with a tight grip on his shirt. “Go back to sleep. We’ll settle the deal with the doctor tomorrow then find out from Yammo where we’re going next.”

 

He’d thought that he’d go back to bed and that would be the end of it but apparently Shizuo didn’t trust him to his own devices now that he was back to normal. He grabbed some rope Izaya hadn’t seen and tied his hands together and then tied the lose end to the bed post before going to his own bed further into the tent. Now this was just not fair. He maneuvered himself into bed again and, thankful for the extra length in the rope managed to get comfortable again and let the strain on his body push him back to sleep.

 

When he finally woke up it was later than he had become used to. The sun was already up and people were starting to sit down to eat. As he moved he saw the same man from last night come over to sit next to him.

 

“ _Apologies my young comasnnois. Person jefone asnlet nok danger. Neongeel siifm skkln nowwm. Haguha.”_ He reached over and began to untie the ropes. “ _It’s not dlnlgi dlgday I see flnsi dlnon dlllsal dnaleoom. HMM dsl attack more frequent.”_ The man felt his forehead and placed his hand under his next. “ _You lna better. You amll understand?”_

 

Well he understood enough to know he didn’t understand. He could make out words of this language but he was still far from communicating. Thankfully the man was untying him and continuing with his explanation that Izaya could only partially understand. He picked up “danger” “protection” “now” and “all right” before the man gave him a pat on the back and left before coming back with some rice and omelet. It reminded him of Tokyo and his insides felt squishy again before he composed himself and accepted the food with “ _thanks”_.

 

He tried to eat the food. It was really good and reminded him of home, but that was the problem. He tried not to look at all the others laughing around a table and eating together as he was confined to the bed. Ha. Confined and controlled. He picked at his food as he sulked.

 

 

 

On the other side of the room Shizuo was having his own problems.

 

The doctor had told them that the Flea had had a case of Bokoblin poisoning. Non-lethal and common in wayward children in the settlements or unlucky travelers. Bokoblins with enough food and supplies that managed to overpower the unlucky human would inject them with a poison to keep them around as a later food source instead of immediately killing them. The poison’s symptoms included making the person docile, easily led to various locations, prone to wandering off, more honest and slow in their logical thinking.

 

It was a good thing he’d been switching off with Ruri to stay up every other night to keep watch for the doctor and make sure Izaya didn’t get worse or run off. They’d had to wait a few days while Izaya had been unconscious and were starting to get worried when the doctor had finally shown up yesterday morning and warned them that they hadn’t been wrong to keep an eye on him. It had been Ruri’s turn tonight and she’d woken Shizuo as she saw the Flea start to wander off.

 

Even with the antidote the Flea had been so out of it he didn’t even notice Shizuo walk up behind him. He hadn’t had any sleep the night before thanks to staying up to watch him and keep an eye out for the doctor so he wasn’t up for the Flea screaming at him when he had to get woken up in the middle of the night to prevent him from wandering off and had fixed the problem on his own so he could get back to sleep.

 

The sickness Izaya had developed was another symptom but that would also start to go away with the antidote. Since Bokoblins and human settlements were often in close proximity to each other this was a common enough ailment among the population that the doctor had plenty of antidote on hand. He warned them that the effects would not fully go away for another week and that they’d need to keep the Flea close during that time and make sure he wasn’t able to wander off.

 

“The children I’ve treated who had the most success of not wandering off in the night were those that were keep close the middle of the group. It’s no guarantee that the same will happen with adults but I’d recommend that you keep him more engaged with all of you than usual and don’t let him get too far away physically.” The man said as he polished some of his equipment. “It’s probably best to stay away from any Bokoblin nests until the symptoms have past but looking at you I’d guess that’d be a little hard for your group wouldn’t it?” He said glancing at their travel packs.

 

“I’m afraid so.” Ruri told him. “We’re leaving again as soon as Yammo finishes their business here.”

 

The doctor shook his head. “It’s a shame. He seems like a fine young man.”

 

Ruri hesitated in translating this part and when she did Shizuo gave a soft snort of derision.

 

The doctor sighed. “Your group is going to have to learn to get along better if you hope to survive traveling together. You can not allow yourselves to be divided on the road.”

 

Ruri nodded and Kasuka dipped his head a little. Shizuo sighed and leaned back. He supposed that was true but he couldn’t see how he was supposed to get along with the Flea. If only there really was a place he could dump him and the rest of them could move along. But he guessed that wasn’t a good thing to be thinking.

 

“Anyway, the payment for treatment is 50 ruppies.”

 

Oh drat. He hadn’t even been thinking about that. He supposed that yeah, a guy like this was more like Shinra than a hospital, and a place like this didn’t exactly have taxes it could collect to fund a health care system. He felt dread start to rise. The only ruppies they had were the ones the Flea’d gotten from the Bokoblin nest. He wasn’t going to be happy losing some of them but it was for his own treatment.

 

Thankfully before he could dread on it much longer Kasuka pulled out a pouch and handed the requested amount over.

 

“I thank ye. Should you ever be in need of more medicine the villages of Kakariko and Hateno have psysicans. Otherwise I rotate between Riverside, Wetland, and here Woodland Settlement. May you have safe journey and luck.” And with that he picked up his stuff and went away to tend to the other patrons at the inn.

 

Shizuo turned to his brother “How did you get that?”

 

Kasuka looked at him. “His sisters gave some of it to me earlier. I believe Izaya still has most of it but they agreed that as party leader I should look after some of it.”

 

. . . You know what he didn’t even want to ask. He didn’t have to deal with pestering Izaya to pay for his own treatment and if he asked it was his own sisters who took his money. He didn’t have to deal with it. Still felt a little bad though. He fiddled around with the pocket where he kept his cigarettes for a distraction. He’d run out eventually. He wondered if the locals had their own version that he could try until he got home.

 

“We’ll stay one more day. That will give a chance for Kasuka-san and I to put on a performance tonight to earn some travel funds. We can leave in the morning.”

 

Shizuo nodded. If the Flea got too hard to deal with again he’d just tie him to a pole near the rest area again and leave him there for the day. Babysitting made easy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So still not sure on that update schedule but three weeks isn't bad when I shot for two right?? I was hoping to include the performance scene in this update but it's getting late again and I didn't want to leave it for next week (and I have not written one of those before so no going and getting your hopes up. This will be feels but the music muse does what she wants U-U). 
> 
> I'm also considering cleaning up the first two chapters from my other fic in progress - no named, Izaya goes back in time and gets "adopted" by Shiki and co. Seems like a good time to put it up even if I'm not actively writing it as much as I am this one right now. Darn you plot. Would anyone be interested? Be warned this one is darker with depressed Izaya. 
> 
> Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! One day I'll get these out before Monday!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first story thank you so much for taking the time to read it! Please let me know any thoughts or criticism you have so I can make it better. 
> 
> I admit right now that Ruri can only speak the language because I wanted them to have to deal with the language barrier but still be able to roughly communicate and she was the only one with semi vague abilities. This story is more humor based than survival so I gave them a break.   
>  ... I gave Shizuo's team a break. Izaya's still going to be cursing the language barrier for awhile. Chapter 2 will be up very soon!


End file.
